Participation, Diversity and Inclusion – Who Plays Golf?
The municipal golf courses are the most successful Park Board initiative encouraging players of all ages and abilities. The city courses are operated year round. The capacity of the 3 courses is 72 players an hour, each playing for approximately 4.5 hours. The three courses are all operating at near capacity for at least 8 months/year. Each course accommodates 900 person hours/day of recreation or 2700 recreation hours over the three courses per day. This is a very impressive statistic, probably not exceeded by any other park or dedicated recreation facility in Vancouver.
In British Columbia, golf attracts the largest number of participants of any sporting activity. Golf is a lifelong sport and is attractive to many demographics: 5.7 million Canadians play golf, completing approximately 60 million rounds annually. 31% of all golfers in BC are over the age of 65. More women play golf than any other sport in Canada and they comprise the fastest growing segment of new golfers in BC. Typically, women prefer to play at local public golf courses.
Diversity & Inclusion
Golf has Modified rules for people with disabilities. Five identified class of golfers — people who are blind , people with amputations, people requiring canes or crutches, people requiring wheelchairs and people with developmental disabilities have rules modified to enable each player.
BC Golfs inclusiveness was recognized during the annual SportBC awards held in March of this year, the very first ‘Delivering On Diversity’ award was presented to the BC Golf Association. The award recognizes a “Provincial, disability, or multi-sport organization that has demonstrated a commitment towards advancing accessibility and inclusion.”
In making the award Minister Mark stated ”I am very pleased tonight to honour and introduce the first recipient of the Delivering on Diversity award, the British Columbia Golf Association for its progress in making golf more welcoming and accessible.”
Are there any golf clubs I can join?
In addition to Public Course regular bookings there are a number of Clubs that facilitate competitive play. League play through a number of organizations cater to Business Women & Men, Senior Women & Men, Very Serious Women & Men and those with just a little time to play. The Golf Clubs below play regularly from one or more of the local courses.
Fraserview Tuesday Ladies Golf Club
Fraserview Business Ladies Club
Ladies Only Golf League
West Point Golf Club (Plays year round on all three courses)
University Golf Club Weekend Men’s Club
Golf Courses in Excellent Condition